Mr



Mr. McCormack American Government

Chapter Twelve – Congress in Action

Big Idea Worksheet - Study Guide

Section One: Congress Organizes (p 320-327)

|Opening Day in the House |Opening Day in the Senate |

| | |

|1. The House organizes every other __________. |1. The Senate has much less to do on opening day than the House, because the |

| |Senate is a __________. This means most of its members, the presiding officer,|

|2. The __________ presides at the beginning of the first day. He conducts a roll|and rules have been carried over from the previous year. |

|call and presides over the election of a __________. | |

| |2. New __________ will take the oath of office. |

|3. The __________ of the House administers the oath of office to the Speaker of | |

|the House. |3. Vacancies on __________ will be filled. |

| | |

|4. The Speaker then administers the oath to __________. | |

| | |

|5. The House then elects its __________, __________, __________, and __________. | |

| | |

|6. The House then adopts its __________. | |

| | |

|7. The House then appoints members to the various __________. | |

The State of the Union Address

This speech usually occurs a few __________ after opening day. It is always delivered before a __________ session of Congress. The President will report on the state of the nation as he sees it, in both __________ and __________ terms.

|Position |Incumbent |How selected? |Duties |

|Speaker of the House |John Boehner (R) |Elected by the House | |

|House Majority Leader |Eric Cantor (R) |Elected by his caucus | |

|House Majority Whip |Kevin McCarthy (R) |Elected by his caucus | |

|House Minority Leader |Nancy Pelosi (D) |Elected by her caucus | |

|House Minority Whip |Steny Hoyer (D) |Elected by his caucus | |

|Dean of the House |John Dingell (D) |Longest serving representative | |

|President of the Senate |Joe Biden (D) |Elected by the electoral college | |

|President Pro Tempore |Dan Inouye (D) |Longest serving senator from the majority party | |

|Senate Majority Leader |Harry Reid (D) |Elected by his caucus | |

|Senate Majority Whip |Dick Durbin (D) |Elected by his caucus | |

|Senate Minority Leader |Mitch McConnell (R) |Elected by his caucus | |

|Senate Minority Whip |Jon Kyl (R) |Elected by his caucus | |

Committee Chairman

The bulk of the work of Congress, especially in the House, is really done in __________.

The __________ of each committee is chosen by the majority party caucus.

Chairmen decide when their committees will meet, which __________ to take up, whether to hold public hearings, and what witnesses to call.

Committee chairmen are usually selected in accordance with the __________ rule.

Mr. McCormack

American Government

Central Dauphin High School

Chapter Twelve – Congress in Action

Big Idea Worksheet

Study Guide

Section Two: Committees in Congress (p 329-333)

Originally, each chamber created a new special committee to consider each bill as it was introduced. Eventually, they began to set up permanent panels, known as __________, to which all similar bills could be sent. (p 329)

Representatives are normally assigned to __________ committees and senators to __________. (p 329)

When a bill is introduced in either house, the __________ or __________ refers the measure to the appropriate standing committee. (p 330)

The chairman of each standing committee is chosen according to the __________. (p 330)

The members of each standing committee are formally elected by a __________ at the start of each Congress. (p 330)

The majority party always holds a majority on each committee, except for the __________, where the parties are equally represented. (p 330)

The __________ is sometimes called the “traffic cop” in the lower house because it controls the flow of bills to the floor of the house. In the senate, the __________ controls the appearance of bills on the floor. (p 331)

__________, also known as special committees, are created for limited purposes and periods of time. (p 331-2)

The __________ or __________ appoints the members of these special committees. (p 332)

Most special committees are formed to investigate a __________. (p 332)

A __________ is one composed of members of both houses. (p 333)

Occasionally, a __________ is created to iron out differences in versions of a bill. (p 333)

Mr. McCormack

American Government

Central Dauphin High School

Chapter Twelve – Congress in Action

Big Idea Worksheet

Study Guide

Section Three: How a Bill Becomes a Law: The House (p 334-340)

Most bills introduced in either house do not originate with __________, but are born somewhere in the __________. (p 334)

All bills raising revenue must originate in the __________, but measures dealing with any other mattes may originate in __________. (p 334)

|Type of Bill or Resolution |Explanation |

|Public Bill | |

|Private Bill | |

|Joint Resolution | |

|Concurrent Resolution | |

|Resolution | |

|Rider | |

The __________ numbers each bill and gives it a short title as it is introduced. (p 335)

The bill is then entered into the __________ and the __________ for the day. (p 335)

All bills are printed immediately after introduction and distributed to the __________. (p 335)

Each bill that is finally passed in either house is given __________ readings to ensure careful consideration prior to passage. After the first reading, the __________ refers the bill to the appropriate __________ . (p 336)

Most of the thousands of bills introduced in each session are __________ - they die in committee. A popular bill can be rescued from this fate, however, by filing a __________. (p 336)

Committees (or subcommittees) seeking to gather information will hold public __________, issue __________ to compel witnesses to testify, or go on __________ to study locations affected by the measure. (p 337)

Committees may do one of several things to each bill: (p 337)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Before it goes to the floor for consideration, a bill is placed on one of several __________, which are schedules of the order in which bills will be taken up on the floor. (p 337)

The __________ can kill a bill or limit the conditions under which it can be debated. A __________ vote of the House can suspend the rules and bring any bill to the floor. (p 338)

Several rules limit the length and content of debate in the House. Any member may “__________” to end debate and move to an immediate vote. (p 339)

The House uses four different methods for taking floor votes: (p 340)

1.

2.

3.

4.

Once a bill has been approved at second reading, it is __________, read a third time, and a final vote is taken. If the bill is approved at the third reading, a __________ will carry it to the Senate. (p 340)

Mr. McCormack

American Government

Central Dauphin High School

Chapter Twelve – Congress in Action

Big Idea Worksheet

Study Guide

Section Four: The Bill in the Senate (p 342-346)

Bills are introduced by senators on the floor of the senate. The measure is then given a __________ and a short __________, read __________, then referred to __________, where they are dealt with much as they are in the House. (p 342)

Bills are called to the floor at the discretion of the __________. (p 342)

Debate in the senate is almost __________. The Senate’s consideration of most bills is brought to a close by __________. (p 342)

No senator may speak more than __________ on a given question on the same legislative day. (p 342)

A __________ is an attempt to talk a bill to death. These attempts can be thwarted by a vote of __________ senators to invoke the __________ rule. (p 343-4)

A bill must be passed by both houses in identical form before it can be sent to the president. A __________ will often be formed to work out differences between the houses. (p 344)

Once the conferees agree, both houses must vote on the compromise without offering __________. (p 344)

If a bill is ultimately passed, the President has four options: (p 346)

1.

2.

3.

4.

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